* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Wednesday sees a broad spectrum of teams kicking off their Africa Cup of Nations campaigns, from perennial underachievers Ivory Coast to plucky underdogs Mauritania. We’ve got three games throughout the day with Tunisia v Mali getting the ball rolling at 1pm.
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Mauritania v Gambia takes centre stage at 4pm before Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast at 7pm. I’ve unearth a value-packed best bet for every game on Wednesday to hopefully give us a really good chance of picking Paddy’s pocket. So, let’s see if we can find some winners.
1pm: Tunisia v Mali – Tunisia to Win and Under 2.5 Goals
TV : Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League
Tunisia tackle Mali in Group F with the former being Paddy’s favourites in the betting. I think that’s a fair assessment with the Eagles of Carthage winning last summer’s friendly between the two 1-0 a clear benchmark of how this one is likely to go. This is CAF’s 4th and 9th ranked sides, according to FIFA, so is a pretty juicy match up.
Tunisia favour functionality over fun and Under 2.5 Goals has been landing a lot with them recently. It’s clicked in four of their last five and, added to that friendly result, there’s a good chance it will happen again.
Mali are in decent form, winning five of their six games this club season, but they’ve not been facing the calibre of opponents Tunisia have, especially in last month’s FIFA Arab Cup. At nice odds, I think Tunisia to Win and Under 2.5 Goals has a great chance.
4pm: Mauritania v Gambia – The Draw
TV: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League
A tricky match up next where the out of form Mauritania tackle the out of practice Gambia. Mauritania, like Tunisia, took part in the Arab Cup and have played 11 times since the start of the 2021/22 domestic season. Gambia, on the other hand, have played on just three occasions.
Of those 11 matches, Mauritania have won just once. For Gambia the number is the same, but with a much higher win percentage, of course. Mauritania are ranked 49 places higher than their opponents by FIFA but, given their form, I’m struggling to side with them with any confidence.
Instead I’ll plump for The Draw. It’s landed in two of Mauritania’s most recent games so they are improving a little. Gambia will definitely take that result and might set up for it, using this one as a hyper-completive pre-season friendly.
7pm: Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast – Double Chance: Equatorial Guinea And Draw
TV: Sky Sports Premier League
Equatorial Guinea face a daunting task against CAF giants Ivory Coast in Wednesday’s final game, but it might not be a straightforward win for the Elephants. Equatorial Guinea are in good shape and beat Tunisia in their current five-game unbeaten run.
Ivory Coast lost last time out to AFCON hosts Cameroon but won the four prior to that. They’re down in 56 in the FIFA rankings with their opponents on Wednesday rated as 114th. This should be a lot closer than Paddy’s prices suggest.
Equatorial Guinea are solid if unspectacular and they’re pretty hard to beat, losing just once this season back in September away at Tunisia. With the quality they have The Elephants should win this but there’s just something about major tournaments which makes them underperform. If that happens again then we might get some joy with Equatorial Guinea And Draw Double Chance.
Wednesday’s AFCON tips
1pm: Tunisia v Mali – Tunisia to Win and Under 2.5 Goals
4pm: Mauritania v Gambia – The Draw
7pm: Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast – Equatorial Guinea Win/Draw Double Chance
* A treble on these three best bets pays at approximately 47/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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